Happy birthday MyPlate!
Adults and kids of all ages need healthy nutrition and physical activity. MyPlate was invented just for you!!!
MyPlate is a reminder to find your healthy eating style and build it throughout your lifetime. Everything you eat and drink matters. The right mix can help you be healthier now and in the future. This means:
Focus on variety, amount, and nutrition.
Choose foods and beverages with less saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars.
Start with small changes to build healthier eating styles.
Support healthy eating for everyone.
Eating healthy is a journey shaped by many factors, including our stage of life, situations, preferences, access to food, culture, traditions, and the personal decisions we make over time. All your food and beverage choices count. MyPlate offers ideas and tips to help you create a healthier eating style that meets your individual needs and improves your health.
Build a Healthy Eating Style
All food and beverage choices matter – focus on variety, amount, and nutrition.
Focus on making healthy food and beverage choices from all five food groups includingfruits, vegetables, grains, protein foods, and dairy to get the nutrients you need.
Eat the right amount of calories for you based on your age, sex, height, weight, and physical activity level.
Building a healthier eating style can help you avoid overweight and obesity and reduce your risk of diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and ...

More than decade ago, a sea change began in the American diet, with consumers starting to avoid foods with trans fat and companies responding by reducing the amount of trans fat in their products.
This evolution began when FDA first proposed in 1999 that manufacturers be required to declare the amount of trans fat on Nutrition Facts labels because of public health concerns. That requirement became effective in 2006.
However, there are still many processed foods made with partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs), the major dietary source of trans fat in processed food. Trans fat has been linked to an increased risk of coronary heart disease, in which plaque builds up inside the arteries and may cause a heart attack.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that a further reduction of trans fat in the food supply can prevent an additional 7,000 deaths from heart disease each year and up to 20,000 heart attacks each year.
Part of the FDA's responsibility to the public is to ensure that food in the American food supply is safe. Therefore, due to the risks associated with consuming PHOs, FDA has issued a Federal Register notice with its preliminary determination that PHOs are no longer "generally recognized as safe," or GRAS, for short. If this preliminary determination is finalized, then PHOs would become food additives subject to premarket approval by FDA. Foods containing unapproved food additives are ...

As I was scanning the morning health news, like I always do every morning, I came across another positive article supporting the Mediterranean Diet. This new research, coming to us from the online European Respiratory Journal , by researchers from the University of Crete in Greece, focused on a sleep condition commonly found in obese individuals called Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS). Sleep apnea is a disorder of the normal sleep pattern associated with pauses in breathing. The study found that obese subjects that followed a Mediterranean diet, had more motivation to stay on the diet, more enthusiasm to follow an exercise plan and a decrease in the episodes of the OSAS.
So why is this diet so good for us? Let’s examine it a bit more closely. The Mediterranean diet, took its name from the foods and diet that was being followed by the residents of Southern Italy, mainland Greece and the island of Crete in the 1960’s. This plant based diet is composed of lots of olive oil/olives, fresh fruits, veggies, whole grains (cereals and breads), beans, dairy in the form of yogurts and cheese, tree nuts, but no BUTTER. Also there is a moderate consumption of fish and poultry, low to moderate consumption of eggs and a low consumption of red meat. Moderate alcohol intake, optional to the diet, is an additional beverage added to meals. Regular outdoor ...

Hello my fans. I am interrupting my Best Diet in the Universe series, which I hope you all are reading and following, and want to mention National Nutrition Month. Sponsored by the, American Dietetic Association*, March 2011-Eat Right With Color,has been designated as the month to promote eating healthy and exercise. As you all know, The Nerdel Company’s prime health directives besides its motto “everything good for kids,” includes making healthy choices in what you eat and to get plenty of physical activity. So what exactly does all this mean for you and me?
Well, it has to do with following the newly released 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans** and the physical activity guidelines as well. Let’s break it down into easy facts you can use: Here are the highlights:
Manage your weight by: 1. trying to prevent and reduce being overweight, 2. Improve your eating behavior and increase your physical activity
Control the amount of food you eat daily. That means for those of you overweight, REDUCING your calorie intake. Portion Control.
Increase your exercise and physical activity time DAILY! Cut back on the amount of time your are sitting!!!
Closely watch your weight in each stage of your life and balance the calories in with the calories out!
Cut back on salt-reduce the amount of salt in your diet to 2300mg daily. If you are age 51 and older, African American, have diabetes, hypertension ...

Wow, by the response from my last blog, you guys and gals are ready! It seems that many of us are ready to get the weight off. I am proud of all of you honest folks-yes, we let it out-we are honest-we gained weight and we are not happy campers. And now, you took the first five steps: 1. You got rid of all of the junk food in your kitchen-had to be done 2. You have weighed yourself-good or bad-had to be done 3. You set a weight loss goal that is realistic-had to be done 4. You made an exercise schedule and finally you went for (or have scheduled) a checkup with your medical provider-had to be done. Great job! Had to be done! Must be done! You are well on your way to success. Now you are all wondering, what’s next? What other secrets can you tell me? Tell me Graehm, please, please!
So let’s talk food! That’s right “da food!” What type, how much and when can I eat it? Isn’t that what we all ask several times a day? In my family, we ask it before we even finish our first meal of the day. We need to know! And we need to know now! We all think about food incessantly. It makes us feel good knowing what ...

Despite many efforts, the obesity epidemic persists. Adults and kids are getting heavier every minute. Continuing my goal to allow us all to understand the problems associated with childhood obesity, I am now presenting part three of the Childhood Obesity Series* on definitions. Parts One and Two have explained some basic terms that we all read and hear daily. I would call them buzz words that so many of us in the press use to convey our messages. Now we need to increase the size of our lexicon to include more advanced terminology and explanations in order for us to arrive at a solution:
1 - Five a Day*
We have been told that we need a minimum of five servings of fruits and vegetables daily. Most research shows that fruits and vegetables are vital to promoting good health. Fruits and vegetables contain essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber that may help protect you from chronic diseases. Compared with people who consume a diet with only small amounts of fruits and vegetables, those who eat more generous amounts as part of a healthful diet are likely to have reduced risk of chronic diseases, including stroke and perhaps other cardiovascular diseases, and certain cancers. To get the amount that's ...

As you read in my article on The New Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) Part 1, the new guidelines offer many differences and some similarities to the 2005 DGA. There are encouragements to eat more good mono and poly unsaturated fats (e.g. fish and plant varieties) over their bad cousins-the saturated fats (meats, poultry and dairy). There is more emphasis on eating whole grain products (e.g. brown rice, whole grain breads and pastas) over the refined and processed white starches. There is a new buzz word that has emerged from these guidelines-the SoFAS-solid fats (animal fats and hydrogenated vegetable oils) and added sugars (sugars and syrups and other caloric sweeteners added to foods during processing, preparation or consumed separately), which according to the statistics, have contributed to 35% of the total calorie (energy) intake of all Americans. These SoFAS are said to be responsible for the overconsumption of saturated fats, cholesterol, and added sugars and have taken the place of the important dietary fibers and nutrients (like vitamin D, calcium, potassium and unsaturated fatty acids like omega-3s) in the diet. There is a recognition that portion control in the home and at restaurants needs to be monitored and is responsible for the overconsumption of calories. In fact, restaurants and the food industry are being encouraged to offer lower calorie, foods with lower SoFAS, portion ...

I can’t believe how quick five years has been. The last Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005(DGA 2005) came out five years ago. And now here comes the 2010 report. Does everyone reading this article know what I am talking about? Okay-let’s review. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans is a joint project between the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to provide advice for people (two years and older), on how and what to eat, and how good nutrition and fitness (physical activity) can help promote good health and reduce the risk of major diseases. Information about choosing a nutritious diet, maintaining a healthy weight, achieving adequate exercise (part of the Physical Activity Guidelies for Americans), and food safety were all included in the 2005 report. The committee that makes these recommendations is composed of experts in the fields of nutrition, exercise, medicine and science. The committee takes into consideration many factors including the current status of chronic diseases in our society like heart disease, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer and bones loss. The current levels of physical activity, obesity, food insecurity and nutrient ...